MELOW
CONFERENCE. 20-22 Feb 2015 20-22 Feb 2015
The
14th international conference of MELOW, the Society for the Study of
the Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the World, began on 20th Feb 2015 at
Hotel Parkview, Chandigarh.
Spread
over three days, the conference is an extended discussion of its main theme,
which is Literature and Censorship. “Damn the Book, Gag the Voice” is the
catchy title of the conference that has inspired about a hundred academicians,
young and old, to come forward with their views on the subject.
The
inaugural address was delivered by Sh Kanwar Sandhu who traced the history of
censorship down the ages, referring to the ways in which it has been found in
different fields, in literature, art and particularly the media. Mr Sandhu’s
talk covered extensive ground, was very well received, and set the tone for
later discussions on the subject. A special invited lecture on the theme was
delivered by Prof Amritjit Singh Langston Hughes Professor at the University of
Ohio (USA).
The
conference was divided into eighteen panels which discuss various aspects of the
key theme: theoretical considerations, western and non-western literary canons,
forbidden and taboo issues, books and authors
banned or burnt, religious, ethical and moral issues, and other issues
like censorship of children’s literature, educational curricula, etc.
The
delegates participating in the conference are local as well as from outside
Chandigarh, hailing from different parts of the country -- as far as Darjeeling, Orissa, Hyderabad,
Gujarat, Kashmir, Chennai and Srinagar.
There are also some scholars from abroad, from the USA, from UK, Thailand, Iran
and Iraq.
The
organization gives a prize for the best paper presented by a young scholar. The
award is in the memory of the late Prof Isaac Sequeira, a well-known name in
academic circles, who hailed from Hyderabad and was a guide and mentor to
several generations of scholars. This year’s prize was awarded to Dr Anupam
Vatsyayan who teaches in Ludhiana. Altogether twenty-seven delegates had
competed for the award.
Prof
Amritjit Singh delivered the prestigious Isaac Sequeira Memorial lecture. He
spoke at length censorship that owes its origin to religious, political or
social beliefs. Raising a valid question – is it possible to have total freedom
of expression? – he seemed to advocate a spirit of tolerance, a ‘civilized’ way
of life that respects and takes into cognizance people and communities of all
shades and varieties.
Faculty
from the Panjab University involved in the conference include Professors Manju Jaidka,
Anil Raina, Pratibha Nagpal, Archana Singh, Meenu Gupta, and others. One of the
key objectives of MELOW is to groom young scholars into focused
research-oriented scholars. With this in view a special session on “Academic
Writing” will be held on 22nd Feb in the morning.
MELOW
Journal, compiling select papers of the last conference, was formally released
at the conference.
